Roadway with traffic-control marking



March 27, 1928.

Filed Aug. 7. 1923 IV/T/VESS:

F/e .9.' y-

M VE/VTOR Arm/Mask Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

. 1,664,070 PATENT. OFFICE- BENJAMIN FOSTER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROADWAY WITH TRAFFIC-CONTROL MARKING.

Application filed iAugust 7, 1923. Serial No. 656,153.

It is customaryat' the present time to paint on thesurface. of a cement, asphalt or other roadway, right-of-way or traffic-control lines or stripes, as well as words, arrows,

numbers and other devices. These markings are not durable. They tend to wear away or to become so discolored that they do not stand out sharply. The object of the present invention is to providemeans for rendering suchmarkings as durable as the road- .wayits'elf. This is accomplished b providing a structure which is built into the roadway, flush with the surface thereof, such structure having a superficial contour corresponding to the marking desired. Preferred specific structures accomplishing the object sought are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 isa plan view of a roadway providedwith a traffic-control stripe and embodying my invention.

Fig. '2 is a side view,an'd Fig. 3 a plan View, of one of the embedable bars whore upper surfaces form a trafiic-control stripefi Fig. 4L is a plan view of a relative short bar forming part of a complete c'urve.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the end blocksof a complete stripe.

" Fig.6 is across-sectional view of my invention applied to a concrete roadway.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of my invention applied to an asphalt roadway.

Fig. 8 is a plan view'of the abutting ends of two contiguous bars. Fig. 9 is across-section through the joint between two embedded bars.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of another form of embedable block. I

,If the superficial marking is a line or 40 stripe I cons ruct a bar a,-preferably rectangular in cross-section, a' few inches in height and of a width corresponding to the width of the stripe to appear superficially on the' roadway. The bar is constructed,- preferably, of a mineral or-clay, but it may be made of any durable material. .A carborundum by-xproductcomposition or a phosphorus bearing'composition is preferred, because such material is not only. durable, but presents a degree of luminosity that willenable it to be seen readily at night. v

Extending from opposite'sides of the bar a, between its top and bottom, are thin wings orwebs b. Preferably, these are formed from a single piece of-wire mesh that is considerably wider-than the bar and that'isl so.

ing of the road. \If the road is a cement -tance corresponding to the depth of the asphalt sheet- .6, so that, after the coating of.

abutted end to end, they form, as shown in materially a continuous curve.

cast into the bar that it projects from oppo site sides thereof.

The bar a is positioned during the build-1 road (see Fig. 6), the cement 0 will be cast about the webs b, and on both sides of the bar a, which thus becomes an integral part of the roadway. In the case of an asphalt pavement laid on a concrete or stone base, the webs may extend into the base, whereby the bar becomes an integral part of the base; or (as shown in Fig. 7 the webs may be positioned below the top of the bar a dis asphalt is applied to the base d, the webs will be confined between the base (Z and the asphalt sheet e.

- It will usually be impracticable to make the bar as long as the trafiiccontrol stripe. It is therefore necessary to abut one rod end to end against another. In order to tie suc- 'cessive bars together, I prefer that the webs shall extend beyond the ends of the bars and therefore. that adjacent webs of abutting bars shalloverlap, as shown in Fig. 8. As

an additional means of securel uniting adjacent bars, I preferto lock t em together and to the material of the roadway by any suitable means, such as by a two-pronged pin '7 (see Figs. 8 and 9), one prong of which extends through overlapping webs, both prongs being; embedded in the roadforming material. v

Traffic-control stripes are usually curved. for at least a portion of their length. Instead of curving the bars, I prefer to make themor such of them as oto make up the'curved portion of the 'str1pes of a comparatively short length, with the ends '9 slightly bevelled so that onej's ide of thebar 3 is slightly longer than'the other, as shown in Fig. 4. When-a number of such barsare Fig. 1, a series ofichords of short arcs together forming the complete. curve. -Such series of chords deviateobut slightly and im- If it is desired to form the similitude of an arrow at either end, I rovi'de a tria'ngu .lar block 7:. (see Fi J5) with webs z'projecting therefroi'non :1 'sides, the 'web.being cut.v away-at jto accommodate the end of a bar a. If letters, figures or. other devices are. to appear on the surface of the roadway, I form blocks m; corresponding to the several per surfaces of the barsg letters, figures or other devices, as shown in Fi 10, and provide the same with lateral we s n and secure the blocks and webs in position in the same manner in which the bars a are held in place. t It is comparatively easy to make the upblocks, etc. flush with the upper surface 0 theroadway, this being effected automatically in the final road-rolling operation, provided reasonable carehas been taken in the original positionin of the bars or blocks.

aving now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: 1

1; A roadway presenting a permanent trafiic-control marking comprising a piece of material having a superficial contour corresponding tosaid marking and webs projecting laterally from said piece of material, the material of the roadway underlying vand surrounding said piece of material an overlying and underlying said webs, the de th 0 roadway material overlying said we s substantially corresponding to the distance of said webs from the top surface of said piece of material so that said top sur-.

face is substantially flush with the materialforming the curved strip of 4 the roadway;

" 2. A' a roadway.

resenting a permanent trafiic-control mar 'n comprising section's of material assemble together with-their a web extending top surfaces substantially flush with each other and embedded in material of the roadway with their surfaces substant0 tially flush-with the. suriiice vof the roadway,-

tion and -,overlapping a web section and fastening devices securing sa1 overlapping webs onadjacent sections together. v a

' 3. A roadway presenting a permanent of material assemble from the body ofeach on an adjacent 'd. "hereunto set my comprising sections together with their surfaces substantiall flush with each ot er and embedded in t e material of the roadway with their to surfaces substantially flush with the sur ace of the roadway, means lockin said sections from vertical movement relative tothe'material of the trafiic-control markin roadway, and fastening devices securing together contiguous partsof adjacent sections and embedded in the material of the roadway beyond the limits of thesection's. 4. A roadway presenting a permanent trafiic-control marking com rising a plurality of sections each provi ed with lateral webs, webs of contiguous sections overlapping, said sections resting on the material of the roadway, which also extends on opposite sides ofsaid sections and above and below sai .webs.v

5. A roadway presenting a rmanent trafiic-control curved stripe-comprising a series of relatively long and narrow sections of material assembled together end to end and-embedded in the material of theroadway" with. their top sutfaces substantially a flush with each other and with the surface of' the roadway, the individual sections being strai ht from end to end, theisectwns being so is posed in their lengthwise extension as to form a continuous series. of chords of arcs of a curve, the abutting ends of adjacent sections bein shaped to substantially coincide, and a'fiange'member at each side of each section extending be end the end of an adiacent section in over apping relation.

- n testimony hand, at'Philadelphia, Pa., on this 18th day of July, 1923.

BENJAMIN FOSTER of which invention, I have 

